Jon Russell

Barcamp Phnom Penh is setting a standard for Barcamps in Southeast Asia. Comparing a smaller, less developed nation like Cambodia to Thailand, Malaysia or even Singapore, it is astonishing to see how active and professional the IT-Community in Phnom Penh is.

Barcamp Phnom Penh still maintains the spirit of Barcamps as it should be (although the pressure from sponsors was a bit much this year), it is all about learning from each others, sharing information and - important as well, having fun.

With two days of many sessions, it's quite exhausting. But you will rarely see no smile in the faces of the participants. Also, there are always suprises, like the "How to build a Cambodian Spaceship" session, or "Developing for iPhone." I learned a lot from Chris Brown this year, who pointed out why Cambodia is a good place for start-ups: "You can dvelop and create the product for the whole world while having low-cost office rent, lower salaries and highly motivated young developers." I totally aggree with that.

There were many job offers I saw at the Barcamp. It reflects that there is already a small community of start-ups, and my wish is that Phnom Penh develops itself as a kind of a Silicon Valley of the region, where young creative people are working on the future of the Internet generation.

My advice for the next Barcamp is: Do it as before, maybe step back from to many sponsors, keep the spirit and have fun.

If you attended this year's BarCamp Phnom Penh, please tell us what you think; what don't like most and what you like less

Great blog post from another Asian Correspondent blogger Tharum Bun on Cambodia's emerging potential for start-ups.

Visit the link for thoughts from another event attendee.